Italian Constitutional Court gives way to Free-Software friendly laws

Carlo Piana

Abstract

The Constitutional Court in Italy has ruled on the compliance with the Italian Constitution of a Regional law issued by Piedmont on Free and Open Source Software and Open Standard. The result is that a Regional law can give more “weight” in public procurements to offers that provide Free Software and implement Open Standards. The Court holds that a similar provision is compatible with the Constitution and – more specifically – such a preference is not against competition. This ruling dismantles therefore one of the most cunning objections against similar provisions that blossom across Europe, because it does not give preference to a technical solution, but rather to a peculiar asset of rights.